Free Bible Commentary
“Philippians 3:8-11”
Categories: Philippians“More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.”
---End of Scripture verses---
Absolutely nothing was more important or more valuable to Paul than “knowing Christ Jesus” (verse 8). After Jesus had entered into Paul’s life he began to look at life through a completely different set of lenses. He came to realize that most of the things that he had treasured prior to coming to the Lord were actually trivial in comparison to the “surpassing value” of discovering true knowledge. Paul knew about Jesus but his knowledge ran much deeper than mere awareness. When he came to truly know the eternal nature and essence of the Word that became flesh, and how He lived on earth and what He expected of and promised to His faithful followers, Paul knew he had learned the pinnacle of human purpose.
Nothing is more important than a deeper knowledge of, a closer walk with, a greater love for Jesus. In Paul’s mind, everything else, relatively speaking, was pure “rubbish”. The combined total of that which he was willing to throw away in no way compared to that which he gained from his complete devotion to Christ. He would let nothing or no one stand between him and his relationship with his Lord. No defunct system of religion, or his position in it; no vain, human philosophy; no monetary wealth or worldly possession. Paul was all in for the Lord because he knew that he had found the one, priceless treasure that he could not live without.
If we want to one day realize “the power of His resurrection” to eternal life (verse 11), we must commit our minds and hearts to Him and entrust our lives to Him on earth. We must be willing to live for Jesus and die for Jesus if we want to reign with Jesus eternally in heaven.
Please read Philippians 3:12-16 for tomorrow.
Have a blessed day!
- Louie Taylor
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